How are New Hampshire Lawyer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Where does New Hampshire rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?

No — New Hampshire's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

What are the limits of these Lawyer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Hampshire?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Hampshire.

Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in New Hampshire?

No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In New Hampshire BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.

Is the New Hampshire bar reciprocity (admission on motion / UBE) factor relevant to pay?

Yes — New Hampshire's admission-on-motion rules (or UBE-score portability) determine whether out-of-state lawyers can practice without re-sitting the bar exam, which affects labor-supply elasticity for senior roles. New Hampshire markets that allow broad admission on motion typically see less premium for in-state-only attorneys at the lateral level. The DeepComps Bar Admission Reciprocity by State page (linked under license reciprocity) tracks current rules; states with strict re-sit requirements show more pay compression for incoming senior laterals.

New Hampshire Lawyer Salary: BLS $123K Median, Real $116K (2026)

TL;DR

$122,640 is the BLS median wage for Lawyers in New Hampshire; $116,364 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
Mid-band breakdown: P25 $94,940, P50 $122,640, P75 $187,440. Tail percentiles withheld by BLS — common when tech-sector wages exceed the OES survey cap.
Nominal: #30/51 · Real: #36/51 — ranking shifts by 6 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — New Hampshire

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$76,000	$72,111
P25 (lower quartile)	$94,940	$90,082
P50 (median)	$122,640	$116,364
P75 (upper quartile)	$187,440	$177,849
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$170,110	$161,405
Employment	Lawyers in New Hampshire

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Hampshire index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	105.4
Goods	100.0
Services	156.2
Rents	114.5

New Hampshire is a high-cost state — RPP 105.4 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (114.5) and services (156.2).

After-tax take-home — New Hampshire (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$122,640	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,252	14.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	$0	no tax on wage income (interest/dividends only, repealed 2027)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,382	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$95,006	77.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$90,145	÷ (105.4 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New Hampshire state-tax burden means for Lawyer take-home

New Hampshire levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $6,132 a year for a Lawyer at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After cost of living, real take-home is $90,145 — lower than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP exceeds 100.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $151,160 for Lawyers with mean pay of $182,760 and total employment of 747,750. New Hampshire sits at #30 on nominal pay and #36 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Hampshire falls 6 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are New Hampshire Lawyer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Where does New Hampshire rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, New Hampshire ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
Is New Hampshire a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?: No — New Hampshire's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
What are the limits of these Lawyer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Hampshire?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Hampshire.
Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in New Hampshire?: No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In New Hampshire BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.
Is the New Hampshire bar reciprocity (admission on motion / UBE) factor relevant to pay?: Yes — New Hampshire's admission-on-motion rules (or UBE-score portability) determine whether out-of-state lawyers can practice without re-sitting the bar exam, which affects labor-supply elasticity for senior roles. New Hampshire markets that allow broad admission on motion typically see less premium for in-state-only attorneys at the lateral level. The DeepComps Bar Admission Reciprocity by State page (linked under license reciprocity) tracks current rules; states with strict re-sit requirements show more pay compression for incoming senior laterals.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-1011, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how New Hampshire Lawyer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.